Wilma Mankiller bio 1 WILMA PEARL MANKILLER Wilma Mankiller ...

WILMA PEARL MANKILLER
Wilma Mankiller bio
Wilma Mankiller is an author, lecturer and former principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.
She has presented more than 100 lectures at colleges and universities on issues ranging
from contemporary issues of Native Americans to community development and women
in leadership. Her leadership lectures draw on her experience meeting with world class
leaders such as Presidents Clinton and Bush, Sr. as well as U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton,
U. N. Secretary Kofi Annan and South African leader Nelson Mandela.
Wilma was the founding director of the Cherokee Nation Community Development
Department, which received several national awards for innovative use of self-help in
housing and water projects in low-income Cherokee communities. Then in 1983, she was
elected the first female deputy chief of the Cherokee Nation, and president of the tribal
council. In l987, she was elected to serve as the first female principal chief of the
Cherokee Nation, and was overwhelmingly re-elected in 1991. She chose not to seek reelection
in l995.
During Ms. Mankiller’s tenure she and Navajo Nation President Peterson Zah co-chaired
a national conference between tribal leaders and cabinet members which helped facilitate
the establishment of an Office of Indian Justice within the U.S. Department of Justice.
Wilma’s tenure was also marked by a great deal of new development, including several
free-standing primary care health clinics, an $11 million Job Corps Center, and greatly
expanded services for children and youth. She led the team that developed the core
businesses which comprise Cherokee Nation Enterprises.
She has been honored with many awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
She has published several works, including, Every Day is a Good Day, Fulcrum
Publishing 2004, Mankiller: A Chief and Her People, co-authored, St. Martin’s Press
1993, A Reader’s Companion to the History of Women in the U.S., co-edited, Houghton-
Mifflin 1998. She has also contributed to other publications, including an essay for
Native Universe, the inaugural publication of the National Museum of the American
Indian. Wilma Mankiller lives on the Mankiller family allotment in the Cherokee Nation
with her husband, Charlie Soap. They have five children and ten grandchildren.
Board Experience. She has served on several philanthropic boards, including the Seventh
Generation Fund, the Ms. Foundation for Women and served for twelve years on the
board of trustees of the Ford Foundation, where she served on the membership, ethics,
human rights and assets committees. In that capacity she visited projects in South Africa,
Brazil, China and numerous projects throughout the United States.
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Wilma Mankiller bio
She currently serves on the board of trustees of the Freedom Forum, formerly the
Gannett Foundation as well as its subsidiary, the Newseum, a museum which opened on
April 11, 2008 on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. The Newseum provides a
comprehensive history of journalism and promote First Amendment Rights. She is also a
member of the external Diversity and Inclusion Council for Merrill Lynch and an advisor
to the Women’s Center at Spelman College in Atlanta. In the fall of 2005 she served as
the Wayne Morse Professor at the University of Oregon where she and Dr. Rennard
Strickland taught a class on tribal government, law and life.
Education: Bachelor of Science degree in social sciences, graduate work in community
planning.
Honorary Doctorate Degrees:
Yale University
Dartmouth College
Smith College
Mills College
Northern Arizona University
University of Oklahoma
Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma State University
Tulsa University
Drury College
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
Rhode Island College
New England University
Willamette College
Honors:
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Montgomery Fellowship, Dartmouth College
Chubb Fellowship, Timothy Dwight College, Yale University
San Francisco State University, Hall of Fame
San Francisco State Alumna of the Year (1988)
International Women of Distinction Award, Alpha Delta Kappa
Oklahoma Hall of Fame
Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame
National Women’s Hall of Fame
International Women’s Forum Hall of Fame
Minority Business Hall of Fame
Women of the Year, Oklahoma Federation of Indian Women
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Woman of the Year, Ms. Magazine
Celebration of Heroes, Newsweek Cover Story
ABC Person of the Week, ABC Nightly News
National Racial Justice Award
Henry G. Bennett Distinguished Service Award, Oklahoma State University
John W. Gardner Leadership Award, Independent Sector
United States Public Health Service Leadership Award
Humanitarian Award, National Conference of Christians and Jews
The Dorothy Height Lifetime Achievement Award
The Elizabeth Blackwell Award
Oklahoma Humanities Council Centennial Award
50 Most Influential People of the Century, in Oklahoma
50 Most Important People in the U.S., Who’s Who
Hero, Glamour Magazine
Tulsa Press Club Headliner Award
Native Voice Media Award
Wilma Mankiller bio
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